Wave of retirements hits Stevensville school district

Several veteran teachers in the Stevensville School District have announced plans to retire at the end of this school year. Seven resignations were accepted last week at the regular school board meeting that represent almost 240 years of cumulative teaching experience.

Keith Chambers, who received the Class A Athletic Director of the Year award this year, with 22 years of teaching under his belt has previously announced his retirement. Terry Rosin, who is also retiring, was nominated by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for Assistant Coach of the Year.

The school district has boosted the base pay for entry level teachers, which, according to School Board member Greg Trangmoe, places the school in the middle of the field in Ravalli County for attracting good applicants. Teacher’s salaries are being raised 5% over the next two years. The raise does not affect administrators, cooks, bus drivers or other non-union workers.

The school board also agreed to follow the recommendation of School Superintendent David Whitesell and advertise for a 4-8 school principal.

The board hired Ellen McKern as Long-term 5th Grade substitute teacher. They also hired Lorie Cuslidge as a substitute and Nancy Trangmoe as a volunteer.

Steve Yazvac was approved as junior high girls basketball coach. High school coaches for spring include Track Head Coach Ron Lords and Assistant Coaches Vickie Vernon and Steve Lewis. Bill Everett will serve as Tennis Head Coach and Colleen Koepplin will serve as Assistant Coach. Head Softball Coach will be Julie Wark and Eric O’Reilly will serve as Assistant Coach.

Superintendent David Whitesell waived his right to privacy and an evaluation of his performance by the board was conducted at the open meeting. The Board rated the superintendent’s performance on a scale of 1 to 5 in five different categories. He scored 3.3 on his relationship with the board, 3.42 in management skills and abilities, 3.54 in his relationship with staff, 3.29 on professional and personal attributes and 2.56 on public relations.

Board members expressed a desire to have more detail in the superintendent’s budget reports and some expressed a desire to receive more decisive recommendations from him on issues that they are considering rather than simply a presentation of options.

Board member Greg Trangmoe summed it up saying, “We have seen generally positive development and encourage you to continue on that track.”

Whitesell, for his part, said that he was satisfied with the way things were going and was not asking for more money or any extension in his current contract at the present time.

The board of trustees will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, March 4 from 5 to 6 p.m. in the music room (building D) to discuss district goals. The public is welcome.